New Zealand shares ended higher on Friday, despite a global sell-off amid geopolitical tensions and the US President Donald Trump's decision to replace US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.56% or 74.57 points to close at 13,423.18.

Trump said on Thursday that he plans to announce his choice to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, amid growing speculation the role will go to former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, according to a separate Thursday Reuters report.

The head of the Indonesia Stock Exchange resigned on Friday after index provider MSCI flagged a possible downgrade of the market to "frontier" status, triggering a market rout of more than $80 billion, according to a Friday Reuters report.

Finally, New Zealand has declined an invitation from Trump to join his proposed Board of Peace, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement on Friday, according to a Friday Reuters report.

In domestic news, New Zealand's total lending was mixed in December 2025, as gains in housing and business credit offset declines in personal consumer and agricultural borrowing, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Further, New Zealand's consumer confidence rose to 107.2 in January from 101.5 in December 2025, marking its highest level since August 2021, according to a survey by ANZ Research and Roy Morgan Research.

In corporate news, Vulcan Steel (ASX:VSL, NZE:VSL) completed the second and final payment under its August 2025 sale and purchase agreement with Francis and Gellatly Holdings, finalizing the acquisition of Roofing Industries.

Chorus (ASX:CNU, NZE:CNU) said that in its fiber areas, total fiber broadband connections rose by about 7,000 lines to 1.1 million connections during the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025.